Wheeling, W. Va. - In just over a week, the top 10 teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) will converge on WesBanco arena in downtown Wheeling for the 2022 MEC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-18, 7-13) enters the final week of regular season play looking to get momentum on their side as they enter the tournament. They kick-off the final push when they battle Alderson Broaddus on Wednesday inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center with tip-off at 7:30 pm.
The Cardinals are looking for a bounce back coming off a 90-72 loss at the hands of Frostburg State, who was fighting for their playoff lives. The Bobcats went on an early 17-0 run that made it a 17-5 game and Wheeling would have to battle back. They slowly chipped away at the Frostburg State lead and came into halftime trailing just 36-34. However, the Bobcats exploded for 54 second-half points and the Cardinals could not keep up as they fell to 7-13 in conference play with the loss. Despite the loss, the Cardinals continued to fight all game long and had strong showings from some of their top performers.
Leading the way on offense was senior Jarett Haines, who scored a team-high 22 points in the loss while shooting 50% from the floor. Haines has been on fire for the Cardinals over the last week, scoring double figures in five of his last six games, while averaging 21.2 points per game during that stretch. He has been one of the top passers for Wheeling this season as well, leading the team with 71 assists this season.
Wheeling's only other double digit scorer in the game was Jordan Reid, who finished the night with 15 points. After missing the Concord game due to injury, Reid has come back strong scoring 67 points over his last three games. He is averaging just over 22 points per game in those last three games and has been hot heading into the end of the regular season. Wheeling has three different players finish with six or more points to round out the offense with William Gabbert (6), Andrew Taylor (6), and Brent Price (9) each contributing to the loss.
With the loss on Saturday, Wheeling has fallen out of the race for the sixth seed, but still has a chance to be as high as the seventh seed in this year's tournament. They sit a game back of both Alderson Broaddus and Glenville State and a win on Wednesday could set them up for a chance at the seventh seed against West Liberty. With their toughest competition ahead of them in the final week of the season, Wheeling is looking to play their best basketball heading into the tournament.
The Matchup
Wednesday night marks the 26th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Battlers, with Wheeling holding a record of 11-14 in the first 25 games. Each of the last three games in the all-time series have been played in Philippi, West Virginia, with Wheeling winning two of those three games. When the two teams meet up in Wheeling, the Cardinals have gone 4-7 in 11 all-time meetings with the teams splitting each of the last four games played in the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
When the two teams met earlier this season in Philippi, West Virginia, the Cardinals would fall to the Battlers in a close 83-80 decision. It was a big game for both Haines and Reid as they scored 26 and 25 points respectively, and four Cardinals would finish in double figures. Wheeling got out to a 45-40 lead before halftime, but 40 second-half points from the Battlers was enough to sink Wheeling.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 pm inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
